Best Wi-Fi extenders or boosters 2021: Strengthen your home network
Posted by mocof on April 27th, 2021
It's a pretty common experience to have little spots in your home that don't get the best Wi-fi extender and signal booster - whether because they're the furthest from your router, or because you've got particularly thick walls or floors that don't let the signal through too well.
You might have looked into the possibility of creating a mesh Wi-Fi network, or of buying a more powerful router, and decided that it's either unnecessary or too expensive, in which case a simple Wi-Fi extender could be the answer. These simple devices range in price but generally let you plug into any wall socket to create a new, extendable home network that you should find is more reliable and widespread. We've gathered together some of the very best models on the market for you to consider - see what you think!
Our pick of the best WiFi extenders to buy today
TP-LinkAC2600
With a look that's straight out of science fiction, this extender from TP-Link is actually extremely simple to set up and use, and while it is far from the cheapest option on this list, it's got a superb balance of pass-through speed and value to offer. With a maximum output of 1733 Mbps, it should be enough to play its part in even superfast home networks. It'll let you set up a new extended network super quickly, ensuring that you can push your service out to the distant parts of your home while buying another will let you easily add more coverage.
NetgearEX3700
Netgear's extender is a great option if you want to keep your budget a little lower (although more expensive versions exist if you fancy getting some more speed through it). Its maximum speed of 750 Mbps is obviously lower than the TP-Link model above, but it's also far more affordable and is still likely to be enough for most people's needs. This pricing means that you can more easily buy multiple, too, if you want to extend your network in more than one place, making it great for a bigger project of extended Wi-Fi.
TP-LinkN300
Moving even further down the pricing range, TP-Link's N300 is an extremely affordable option if keeping costs down is your top priority. It's got quite different looks in the EU and US, but in both regions is similarly priced. That lowering of cost does mean compromising with maximum speeds of 300Mbps, but if you're just looking to get better coverage in a couple of pockets in your home it'll still see you right.
Linksys Max-Stream AC1900+
Stepping back up to the other end of the scale, if you're looking to get great performance on your extended network, Linksys has an impressive device to offer up in the AC1900+. It's a pretty chunky unit for to plugin, but is dead easy to set up and will be working in minutes. Across its bands it offers speeds of up to 1.9 Gbps in total, making it powerful in that regard, while Linksys has some useful features like a roaming system that can let your devices always pick the strongest signal as you move around your home, which is handy if your standard network is faster in some spots.
TP-Link AC750
Our final entry hits a hat trick for TP-Link, with another extender that's far from cheap but could represent great value if you're looking for solid speeds. With a clean modern look, the AC750 is one of the nicest extenders we've seen, too. Its 5GHz network can run speeds up to 433Mbps, which might not be on the bleeding edge, but stability is really impressive and you're also not quite paying top dollar either. Meanwhile, we know how straightforward TP-Link's setup process is, which is another plus.
